Queen of the Clans: Wake Up
by Heart of Silver
Summary: Sarah has no life. Jaypaw needs a reason. Together they will save the lake...or die trying.
1. Dreams

My life has been unbearable since day one

My life has been unbearable since day one.

It's not that I'm a horrible person—I get good grades, I've got some friends. I can be annoying but I can act calm. My family's not rich, but we're not incredibly poor either. It's more the people in my family than my actual situation. Inattentive parents who have limited control over me or my actions. Nor do I, for that matter.

Ever since I could walk I've been riding. My family owns Hare Hill Riding Stables on the lake, a popular vacation spot for families with kids. I've never had my own horse; but I treated every horse my parents bought as if they had bought it for me and me alone. King is 'mine', you could say. His owner never comes to see him, but he needs attention or he'll start to get bored and bite himself. We're alike in so many ways, it scares me.

Now, why has my life been horrible? Because I've never had freedom.

As much as I hate my parents, they know how to raise a kid. (I'm their third and youngest at fifteen) They gave me boundaries and showed me what would happen if I crossed them. I don't leave the house except for school; no one can come over, I can't go over to anyone's houses. I do my chores in the house and the barn, get my homework done and I have to stay within seeing distance of the house. No joy rides around the lake; no parties, no sleepovers, no after school clubs or dances. My parents work all day, come home late, and go to sleep; I do all the work around the house. I can't go on trail rides without one of my parents, which is next to never; no jumping King, unless my parents are there; and, most of all, no pets.

Then I had this wonderful idea…

Why don't I run away? It would be easy enough with no one to watch me. Just take King and go. He'd follow me anywhere and I'd do anything to keep us together. I hatched a plan and soon it would take its course.

Little did I know that someone else that plans for me not too different from my own.

A warm breezeless night expanded across the moor. Barkface was waiting with his apprentice, Kestralpaw, near the border between WindClan and ThunderClan. Tonight was the half moon, which marked the meeting of the medicine cats of the Clans. Kestralpaw scented the air and pricked his ears.

"I smell Leafpool," he mewed. Barkface nodded.

"Jaypaw, as well. I wonder where Mothwing is tonight?"

Jaypaw listened to Leafpool leap over the stream that was the border between WindClan and ThunderClan, taking his time following her, measuring the distance and landing a bit off kilter but on his paws. He had scented the two WindClan medicine cats as soon as he and Leafpool had left camp; Barkface and Kestralpaw were always first. Jaypaw had yet to scent RiverClan or ShadowClan, but they would be along soon enough.

"Hello, Leafpool," greeted Barkface. "Lovely evening, isn't it?" They touched noses and Leafpool sat. Jaypaw nodded to Kestralpaw and took a spot a little way's off from him, silent. The grey tabby unnerved everyone; his blue eyes gave away that he couldn't see like other cats could, but he never acted as if he was different. Kestralpaw's nervousness came off in waves. The WindClan apprentice had never been comfortable with the blind medicine cat.

Soon they were joined by Littlecloud of ShadowClan; Mothwing and Willowpaw of RiverClan came bounding up not too much later. Jaypaw let the scents of the medicine cats guide him to the Moonpool; felt his paws sink into the prints of those past, heard the whispers of his ancestors mumbling to him.

"Jaypaw." He looked up at his mentor, Leafpool, as they settled down to drink the water from the Moonpool and dream. "Remember what we talked about," she mewed sternly.

With a grunt Jaypaw lay down, merely nodding to the she-cat. "Yes, Leafpool," he said in a bored tone. 'What we talked about' referred to Jaypaw's ability to walk into other cats' dreams uninvited and undetected. It was how he had found out that RiverClan had been pushed from their camp by twolegs, and how he had found out Mothwing did not dream with StarClan, but of regular things: hunting and chasing and her duties as medicine cat.

The icy cool water of the Moonpool slid down his throat as he drank it. He let sleep command him and the dream invade.

The dream was blindingly bright; pain pulsed through his veins. He refused to cry out; instead he gritted his teeth, squinted his eyes, and looked at what he could. Glimpses of scenes drifted by; a night sky, followed by a limp, shadowed figure, rain lashing down in all directions. A patrol of cats dragging something behind them; a Twoleg, astride a creature he remembered as a horse. Throughout it all, a voice rang out: 'Trouble will help trouble, mend what is broken, break what is whole, and so she will rule.' He tried to cry out as lightning forked through the sky, straight towards the girl—

As soon as it hit, he opened his eyes. He was panting heavily; as he looked around, he noticed the rest were still dreaming. Jaypaw calmed himself and shook his head. If what he saw was right…

The Clans were in trouble.

And he was the one who would save them.


	2. Leaving

The night that I left was pouring down rain. The storm that the weather man had forecasted that come at exactly the right time. All the better--rain washes away tracks.

I snuck down to the barn after my parents were asleep. I had been preparing for this for weeks—but all of a sudden my heart began to ache. _Don't tell me you'll miss these people,_ that nagging voice in my head reprimanded.

_Never, _I answered it, and left it at that.

I found King in the pasture, of all places. He was the only one left out. Were my parents complete idiots? He could catch a chill that way! I made sure my backpack was on tight and hopped the fence.

'Here, boy,' I cooed and clucked. He trotted over, shivering. He hated thunder—my parents knew that, too.

'We don't need anyone,' I whispered in his ears. 'We're fine on our own, aren't we, bud?'

King snorted into my hand. The opportunity presented itself—swing onto his back and gallop off.

That's exactly what happened.

_Mistake number one._

'Come on, let's get out of here.' I kicked him forwards and he took off. I held on tight as he sailed over the fence that held us both back. I cheered as we galloped off into the moor, hooves thundering, not caring where King took me as long as it was away from here.

Even in all of this, the rain, thunder, lightning, I was ten times as happy as I was at home.

_Mistake number two._

We made it up to the hill overlooking the moor. The rain appeared to have let up just a bit. I was already soaked through; we'd have to find a dry place for the night somewhere around here. King slowed to a walk and I raised my face to the sky. How good it felt to be drenched in that vertical river. I watched a strip of lighting stab the sky. How beautiful...

A large crack of thunder came swiftly after a long jagged strip of lightning. That was all I could register—the jolt from that lightning went through me like a bullet. I barely noticed hitting the ground and the hoofbeats running in the other direction before everything went dark.

---

Of course it had to rain. Right in the middle of a patrol. How perfect. Water was RiverClan's best friend, not WindClan's. So far, of course, the hunt was far from successful. A mealy starling and a scrawny rabbit.

There's something to be said about early-morning hunt patrols.

_They sucked._

Crowfeather was soaked to the bone and almost an icicle, besides the fact that the sun hadn't even risen. Wasn't tonight the Gathering? He couldn't be asleep for that! Harepaw was out right complaining. Why couldn't Tornear keep his apprentice quiet? Heatherpaw trotted beside him with the earlier said scrawny prey.

How pathetic.

Today was very, very far from a 'good' day.

'How far is it back to camp? My paws hurt,' mewed Harepaw. 'I'm hungry, too. Where'd all the prey go? I'm tired—'

All of a sudden, Harepaw stopped in his tracks. Crowfeather was about to meow thanks to StarClan when Tornear said,

'Crowfeather, stop. Harepaw found something. I think it's dead.'

Crowfeather shoved around him to see what he was talking about. A limp shape was sprawled over the moor grass. A _cat _shape.

Heatherpaw had her head to what was presumably the mouth. 'She's barely alive,' she mewed, sniffing the body. 'Ew. Her fur's charred. It's cat,alright.'

Tornear's turn to check it over. 'Yup, it's a she-cat. Sure is tiny. Must be apprentice age, at least.'

'Probably some rogue,' Crowfeather said, wrinkling his nose at the smell of singed fur. 'Come on, let's leave it.'

Heatherpaw shook her head. 'We should take her back to camp, at least to have Barkface look at her.'

How sentimental. 'If it's not prey, it's not going back to camp.'

Audible groans came out of the shape. Everyone took a surprised step back. 'We can't just leave her out here,' Harepaw meowed.

Crowfeather sighed. 'Fine. Heatherpaw, Harepaw, back to camp, then. Report to Onestar and Barkface.'

Tornear nudged the form as the apprentices bounded off. 'No sign of injury, other than that burnt fur. That's strange.'

Crowfeather sniffed at her. Her scent was...mingled. 'She doesn't smell like a clan.'

'Kittypet? Loner? It's quite possible.' Tornear kept checking for the injury that would explain such a strange appearance.

'This is just too strange, Tornear,' Crowfeather mewed.

'Whatever the case, let's get her back to camp. Maybe she'll tell us her story when she wakes up.'

Crowfeather sighed.

This was going to be a long night.


End file.
